1. Field
The present invention relates generally to surge protection circuits and improvements thereof. More particularly, the present invention relates to DC surge protection circuits and their incorporation into plug-in or frame mountable devices and improvements thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Communications equipment, computers, home stereo amplifiers, televisions and other electronic devices are increasingly manufactured using a variety of electronic components that are vulnerable to damage from electrical energy surges. Surge variations in power and transmission line voltages, as well as noise, can severely damage or destroy electronic devices along their propagation path. Electronic devices impacted by these surge conditions can be very expensive to repair or replace. Therefore, a cost effective way to protect these devices and components from power surges is needed.
Surge protectors help defend electronic equipment from damage due to the large variations in the current and voltage resulting from lightning strikes, switching surges, transients, noise, incorrect connections or other abnormal conditions or malfunctions that travel across power or transmission lines. As the number of electronic systems and equipment increase through both commercial and industrial society, the need for adequate and efficient protection from power surges becomes ever more important. A malfunctioning system or piece of equipment due to an unexpected or unintended surge of electrical power runs the risk of extensive monetary damage to the system or equipment and can even impact human safety. In an effort to reduce these risks, protection circuits or devices have been incorporated as part of or connectible to electrical systems or equipment in order to prevent the propagation of power surges through the electronics or other electrical equipment.
DC circuit protection has been afforded via a variety of circuit elements such as silicon avalanche diodes (SADs), metal oxide varistors (MOVs), Gas Tubes (GDTs) and other non-linear circuit components. When surge energy above a predetermined threshold encounters one of these components, the surge may be diverted from a signal line that is connected to the protected electrical equipment. However, conventional protection circuits can be extremely costly as the power dissipation requirements for a given system increase. The interaction of the various circuit elements may not efficiently mitigate the surge energy and therefore require a purchaser of such circuit protection to pay an inordinately higher cost for higher rated components than would otherwise be necessary. Particularly for applications at risk of high surge energy input, prior art DC protection circuits can easily become prohibitively expensive.
Therefore, a DC surge protection system or circuit is desirable that can more efficiently maintain an output voltage below a certain voltage threshold, even during the onset of a high energy surge condition. The DC surge protection system or circuit would ideally be low cost and utilize a configuration of electrical components capable of dissipating high levels of surge energy while utilizing inexpensive circuit elements. Moreover, the DC surge protection system or circuit would desirably be capable of easy scalability to a variety of desired output voltage levels or surge protection or suppression capabilities. In addition, the DC surge protection system or circuit would desirably be capable of incorporation into a variety of connectible enclosures or devices for interfacing with a user's particular system of setup.